Improved washing-machine



delitti mes l sind with.

FABIUS H. LAWTON, 0F FLUVANNA, NW YORK, ASSIGNOR TQ HIMSELF,

DAVID W. PROSSER, AND JOSHUA` CHENEY, Ob" SAME PLACE.

Leners Patent N 596,123, am@ october? 26, 1869.

j IMPROVED WASHING-MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sanne.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be, it known that I, FABIUs H. LAWTOX, of Fluvanna,in the county of Chautauqua,and'State of New ork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVashing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a t`ull,clear,a1nl exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part oi' this specilication, and in whichj Figure l represents a view, in perspective, oia machine, embracing my improvements. l

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of thc oscillating rubber, being only partially depressed.

Figure 3 represents asimilar Sectiomthe rubber being elevated.

In the accompanying drawings- A represents the tub or box, of an oblong form, supported upon legs, and lined with zinc, so as to render it water-tight- Within this tub, and upon the bottom, is placed horizontal trame, B, consisting of two side bars, united at their ends, between which is secured the ordinary concave bed of rollers C, arranged in a circle, concentric to the axis ot' the presser. This concave bed of rollers can be converted into a series otiixed rubbers,

in a manner and i'or a purpose to be presently described.

Y Immediately above the concave bed of rollers G, thc

rubber and presser are arranged, which also consistof .a series ot' rollers, l), secured in a suitable trame, and suspended from a rock-shaft, E, by two vertical parallel arms F, so that the rollers ofthe presser may move over and in contact with the concave bed ot 'of the. tub, as shown in l, the lower ends ot' which are secured 'together by a cross-bar, H.

The device for bringing the presser down, and holding the clothes with the requisite degree ot' pressure, consists of an armed pulley, L and a strap, J, connected thereto, one end of which is attached to the cross-bar H, of the vertically-moving frame of the` presser, while the other end passes over a small roller, i, secnredbeneath the. front end ofthe tub, and has a stimup attachedthereto, so as to hang in a position to'receive the foot ofthe operator, as shown in fi'gs. 1 and 2. f

The armed pulley I is iixcd upon a horizontal rod, a, secured beneath the wash-tub, in suoli a position that that portion of the said armed pulley which is concentric wito its axis, will be in a vertical line with the horizontal bar, to which the strap is attached, in such manner as to allow the band to wind and unwind upon the puliy, directly in a line with the movement ot' the rubber frame, while the aim b oi the pulley projectsdownward, and to this part the strap J is attached, so that, it will be seen, the arm b acts as a lever to the pulley, as well as an attachment for the. strap, and that the descent ot" the stirrup c, by the pressure of the foot, will bring` the arm upward, and cause the strap to act'directly upon the arm ot' the pulley, so as to wind the strap upon` its concentric surface, as represented in iig. 2, while the release ot' the stirrup from the pressure ot the foot will allow the presser to rise and unwind the strap, by means ot' springs K, attached toV the tub, and to the vertical slides Gr of the oscillating rubber, the -i`orcc of the springs being constantlyexerted upwardior that purpose.

This arrangement of lthe iiexible stirrnp c, withits armed pulley l, it will be seen, is a very easy method of bringing the rubber into action with the requisite degree ot' pressure, because it allows the foot to rest direct-ly upon. the. ground, upon whiclrthe machinercsts,and is, therefore, a great relief to the limb ofthe operator, in' avoiding the constant strain, whiclr` is necessary with the treadlc hcretothre in use in this class ot' 'ashing-machines.

The concave bed of rollersI Chas heretofore been used with a convex presser ot rollers,'but it has been found that the action of such a presser, of rollers only, will pass over thclclothes back and forth, without ma-y terially disturbing their condition, as they lie generally in the same state, because the rollers move over them both aboveand below by their ,rolling motion, without biting into them or rutiling them up, and it is often necessary, therebre, to turn the clothes over by hand. n

To avoid this necessity, I have arranged, in conneet-ion with the series of rollers of the presser, biting or turning-bars L, arranged in such manner as to be adjusted vertically in grooves in the bars in which the rollers D are joui-nailed, so that their acting-edges can be adjusted below the surface of the rollers, and thus Yconstitute a lixed biting-rib at each end of the presser,

and on each side of the series of rollers D, as shown in fig; 2, so that while movingr the presser back and fort-h, these bars L will catch iu the clothes and turn them over,so as to' present other parts of the clothing to the rubbing action of the rollers I), while they constitute, in ,connection with the rollers, tixed rubbers.

In pertbrming this function, they are generally used yat the commencementof washing the clothes, while the concave'bed of' rollers G are free to turn upon their axes.

.lhe vertically adjustable rubbing-bars L, of the presser, are connected together by aphorizontal top plate, M, which is constantly pressed upward by a spring, c, secured to a cross-bar, an, attached to the end pieces ofthe presser, immediately above the rollers l), and beneath the said connecting-plate M, so as to constantly tend to press upward upon each end of the plate, the normal position of the lower edges oi the adjustable bars L being on a line with the lower `surfaces of the presser-rollers I).

In order to extend the ends ofthe rubbing-bars L below the acting-surfaces ofthe rollers D, I secure an eccentric roller, N, between the vertical arms F ofthe presser, in Vsuch manner that when turned by means ot' a lever or arm, ln., so as to bring that portieri ofthe roller farthest from its .axis downward, it will be'ar upon the horizontal connecting-plate fm, and thus sie mnltaneously depressthe rubbing-bars L, as shown in rigs. 1 and 2, and hold them in thatfposition by the upward pressure ofthespringe, against the said eccentric roller M, and to-withdraw the said projecting, 1in-yielding rubbers L, it is. only necessary to depress the arm n ofthe said eccentric roller, which turns the 'eccentric portion of the roller to one side as shown in tig. 3, the spring-plate m, remaining in vcontact with the surface ot' the eccentric roller, whether the unvielding rubbers be up or down. The combination, therefore, of un yielding rubbing-bars with the rollingsurfaces 'of rubbing-rollers, is a very great advantage in eect-ing the thorough cleansing of the clothes.

I have also found it of very great advantage, in the use of a concave bed of rollers, to lock the rollers on their axes, and thus constitute them a bed of fixed rubbers, instead ot' a 'continuous rollingfsurface.' This,

however, has the best e'ect, when the rubbing-bars ofthe presser are raised, so that, instead ot' having an upper and aV lower series of acting moving surfaces, I may lock the'one, and leave the other free to roll, so as to produce an action upon theelothes similar to that of the common haml'wash-board.

The device for accomplishing this consists' of on'eI or more iiexible bands, yr, of brass or other suitable material, passed beneath the series of rollers C, and connected at each end to transverse bars ss?, one of which, s, is secured in bearings in the frame ofthe said concave bed of rollers C, so as to turn therein.

lo one side of this turningebar I secure an arm, t,

which, when turned down, as shown in fig. 3, is made to interlock with a spring-catch, a, and hold it in that position. The turning of the cross-bar s2, it will be seen, thus tends to straighten the bands lr into a horizontal line, and consequently against the lower surfaces of the rollers C, thus constituting a brake, and rendering them xed, so that theycannot turn while the presser is moving over them, while the releasing Vthe gripe of the bands lr, upon the rollers C, and thus unlock them, as shown in fig. 2.

lhe machine can, therefore, be used as occasion may require,either with a fixed or moving bed of rubbers, and xed and moving rubbing-surfaces of the clothes being washed.

In operating the presser, the attendant grasps the handle P, attached thereto, while at the same moment with thek foot' inserted within the stirrup c, brings it into action on the clothes, and the strap J is of such length as will enable the operator to regulate. t-he de-v gree ot' pressure, while the footis supported on the ground.

The machine may be provided wlth a wringer, attached to the barQ, in any suitable manner, it desired.

v Having thus described my invention,

1. The combination, in an oscillating presser, of unyielding adjustable rubbing-bars L, with a seriesot' intermediate rollers D, operating as described.

2. The combination ot' the .vertically adjustable, unyielding rubbing-bars L, with the eccentric roller N, and springs c, operating to either project the bars belowthe surface of the rollers, or to retract them, described.

3. vIn combination with the above, the. concave bed 4ot rollers C, with the braking-bands or straps 1', op-

erating as described.

4. The arrangement of the armed pulley I, in com bination with the stirrup c, strap J and the vertically adjustable rubber frame G, as described.

vFABIUS H. LAWTON. \Vitnesses:

J. W. H. JOHNSON, D. W. Inossnn.

of the arm t from its spring-catch u, will -also release y presser, according to the condition and quality of the Y 

